Chapter 43: Khánh Minh V/S Jack The Ripper

"In the deadly fog caused by Assassin, currently, Khanh Minh and Ruler are in the process of evacuating the people. Both have now helped nearly all the residents to get inside their homes.

'The fog is getting thicker by the day! If it continues like this, the people will be affected, we must evacuate the residents as quickly as possible.'

'Yes, I know, you go that way, and I'll go the other way.'

'Um, agreed then.'

Then Ruler and I split up to go in two different directions to evacuate the people, but strangely, on the path I took, I didn't see any residents at all, perhaps they had already gone inside, so I continued on. Then the watch or the MST communication bracelet rang, and I answered the call to find Artoria running and calling.

'Master, there's trouble at our location, the fog has suddenly appeared, and it's affecting the people around us, do you know what's happening, Master?'

'Ah, as far as I know, this fog is caused by the Black Assassin or Jack the Ripper.'

'Is that so!'

While Artoria and I were talking, Jeanne pressed her face against the watch on the other end of the line and began to interrogate me."

"Hey Master, where are you right now? And how is your place at the moment?"

"Well, just like the ladies, I'm also shrouded in fog here along with the common folk, but I've evacuated them into a house already, and currently, I'm near a Cafe..."

While I was talking, a killing intent from behind somehow made me aware, though I don't know how I felt or recognized it, and immediately I activated the infinite limit causing Jack the Ripper's blade to hang in mid-air, and with that, she was taken aback and retreated, while Jeanne and Artoria were surprised by the event.

"What's the matter, Master? Is there an enemy attack?"

"Yes, that's right, it seems like I've become the target of Jack the Ripper now, you two go to this location that I've pinpointed, and now I will fight with this girl."

"Wait a minute, Master..."

I cut off the call and then turned to look in the direction of the one who wanted to attack me.

"How strange! Why can't my attack touch you, big brother? Why is that?"

"It's nothing, all of it is just because I'm stronger than you, little girl."

"Oh, you think you're stronger than me?"

"Of course."

I gave a confident smile in front of little Jack.

"If you say so, then I'll see if you can withstand this attack."

Jack lowered herself like a leopard stalking its prey and rushed towards me, slashing a series of high-speed cuts, but with the infinite limit, I just stood there observing Jack's movements, because no matter what, little Jack wouldn't be able to overcome the infinite, and after a while, she began to tire.

"What kind of devilry is this?? Why can't any attack touch you, big brother?"

"Well, I told you, with the Limetless, all of the kid's attacks become useless."

"That's cheating! Why don't you turn off that infinite thing and fight a fair match."

Jack's face became angry and annoyed and demanded that I turn off the infinite and fight a fair match, but I wasn't asleep to turn it off, although I could also defeat her normally even if I would get quite hurt, and I don't like that at all, but anyway, she's still a kid even though she was born hundreds of years before me, but I will still indulge her so I will use armor instead of infinite even though it's also somewhat cheating, but who cares, I do what I like.

"Alright then, I will turn off the limitless and fight a match with you, kid."

"Really!?"

"Yes, I will give you a handicap by not using infinity, but even so, I will use this to hide from you."

I immediately took out the arc reactor from my pocket, pressed it three times, said 'Henshin', and the armor I chose was a new one that I had accidentally unlocked, which seemed to be called the Dino Fury Battelizer.

"What, you're playing with armor now!? After that infinite ability, where did this armor come from? You really are a cheater."

"Oh, thanks for the compliment, kid! I'm famous for being cunning and dirty, so... what's that!??"

I turned my head, pointed up to the sky with my left hand, and reflexively Jack looked in the direction I was pointing at that moment.

"Thunder punch!"

And while the kid was still distracted, a punch flew out of nowhere and accidentally hit Jack straight in the face, sending him flying straight into the bench in front of the shop, holding his face and crying.

"Ouch, that hurts!!!"

"It's not over yet!"

I didn't care how much the kid Jack was lying there holding his face and crying in pain, I continued to attack him relentlessly. But as an Assassin class, Jack quickly dodged the next punch, jumped onto the roof, and looked down at me with angry eyes.

"That's enough, you cowardly, dirty bully..."

Before Jack could finish his sentence, I drew my gun and shot at the kid. Despite being caught off guard, he was lucky to escape from my gun barrel and disappear into the fog. But of course, with this fog and a revolver, it's not like a machine gun, submachine gun, or rifle that can fire continuously. And behind the house, after Jack managed to dodge in time, he was angry and frustrated.

"Even though I had no grudge against him before and was just following Anos's orders, I just wanted to enjoy my freedom and play with him a bit before killing him... but now I really want to kill him immediately, without slowly enjoying the fun anymore, it's time for me to use this."

Jack summoned a strange pink perfume bottle, while I was also hiding somewhere, observing around.

"I wonder where this girl is hiding? Why doesn't she just show herself in the middle of the battlefield to save time-."

As I was standing guard, suddenly Jack appeared and threw something at me, and reflexively I shot it immediately. Although I blocked the surprise attack, what I shot looked like a perfume bottle, causing pink smoke to spread and envelop me.

"Damn, this is not good! I accidentally inhaled it, I have to run away from this smoke right now."

It was too late, I had already inhaled the fragrance, and something strange happened in my body. My body became hot, my waist slimmed down, my muscles started to return along with my waist, my chest grew, and then my buttocks, in less than half a minute my whole body had completely transformed from a slim waist, then to enlarged buttocks and chest, and also...

"My voice... why has it become so clear and high-pitched? And why does my body feel lighter than before, and why has my armor suddenly sprouted a short skirt!?? Could it be that I have turned into a girl!!!"

I exclaimed in shock at this reality, while Jack, on the opposite side, laughed heartily at my current appearance.

"Wow, wow! It seems like you're quite shocked, huh? It's understandable, suddenly changing from a boy to a girl like this would surprise anyone."

"This little one... the pink gas I inhaled, was it a gender-changing drug? I never knew you had such abilities, or was it that Anos guy? Tell me quickly how to return to normal, or don't blame me for being cruel."

"Too bad for you, or should I say, sister, now that you've turned into a girl, I've met the conditions to use it."

"What, could it be..."

"This is hell, we are the fire, the rain, the power, let's slaughter here."

"No, this is bad! Don't think I'll let you activate the noble phantasm!"

I immediately raised my gun to shoot, but my body suddenly weakened, preventing me from aiming accurately at Jack, and I missed, having to endure that attack.

"Maria the Ripper."

Jack's noble phantasm, Maria the Ripper, is a type of weapon that recreates the murders from the late 19th century. For Jack to fulfill the conditions of the weapon, three main criteria must be met: fog, a woman, and nighttime. Once all three conditions are satisfied, Jack the Ripper's murder scenario is set, with the "murder" coming first and the result of "death" following. In this reversed causality of the sacred weapon, all evasion, blocking, and defense become meaningless.

And Jack rushed forward at maximum speed, slashing my body in an X shape, causing my armor to appear and then be deactivated and shut down, while I collapsed to the ground, motionless, and Jack turned back to look at me lying there with a satisfied smile.

"The mission is complete, now I will return to mama and then go find other prey, hehehe-."

Jack smiled happily and walked away, but as soon as he lifted his foot, a strange sound came from where his left hand was. Looking down, he saw that the little girl's left arm had been crushed for no apparent reason, and upon seeing this, Jack immediately became shocked and in pain, clutching his arm and screaming.

"It hurts so much!! Why is my arm completely crushed? Who did this??"

"Red."

A red sphere appeared and shot straight at Jack, causing the little one to be thrown into an uninhabited house, suffering severe injuries. And of course, the person who did all this was none other than me.

"Fortunately, this armor has the ability to resist things like curses or the concepts of these Servants, though I don't understand why, but it seems like something appeared on my armor and then it was forcibly shut down within 5 minutes? Anyway, it doesn't matter, I still have infinity to fight."

While I was still thinking, Jack stepped out of the house with a battered body.

"I can't believe you still have such tricks up your sleeve, but it's ridiculous, how could you have survived my Noble Phantasm?"

It's probably because of my armor, and I'm a boy, not a girl, so don't call me 'One-San'."

"I can't believe there's such a thing! But anyway, it's good that Anos has prepared some things for me and my mother just in case something like this happens."

"Oh, so you still have some secret cards up your sleeve?"

"Maybe, but with injuries like this, I have to use this now."

The little girl took out a heart from something and swallowed it, and immediately Jack's arm and body were restored. Seeing this, I decided to attack Jack while he was still in the process of recovering.

"You think I would let you stand there and recover?"

Just as I was about to shoot red, a group of kids came up from behind with knives intending to stab me, but they were stopped by limitless.

"Blocked, huh?"

Jack clicked his tongue when he saw that the children he controlled could not assassinate me.

"Oh! Planning to stab me in the back? Too bad, that's impossible with Limetless."

Then I used Red, but with less force, to throw the children far away without causing much damage and knocking them unconscious.

"Now it's your turn, little Jack."

"I guess so, now once again I will use my Noble Phantasm to kill 'One-San.'"

"Keep dreaming, kid, I won't let you do whatever you want, and another thing, I'm a boy, not a girl!"

And "BOOM," I shot Red right where Jack was standing, and although it was a bit surprising, Jack still managed to dodge the attack, and while dodging, the little one chanted the Noble Phantasm.

"Chanting, huh! Too bad, if you're not like that above, you can't dream of dodging my blue, now then, Blue-."

Suddenly, my head hurt as if it had been split in half by an ax, interrupting my Blue execution. Strange memories of a woman who looked quite similar to me and other images that I didn't even recognize flashed through my mind. Although he didn't understand what happened, Jack still took the opportunity to finish chanting the spell and when he landed, he activated his noble phantasm again, aiming straight at the heart.

"Now, once again, Maria the Ripper!"

"This isn't good, I must try to maintain Limitless, but the pain is making it difficult to keep up, yet I must try."

Despite the headache, I still tried to remain limetless, and the noble phantasm Maria the Ripper, a noble phantasm, reversed cause and effect, making evasion, blocking, and defense all meaningless. Faced with Limitless, a nearly supreme layer of defense, the victor was Limitless.

"How can this be!! Why can't Maria the Ripper touch her? Shouldn't all forms of defense or evasion be unable to withstand it, why!?"

"Wow, it looks like your Limitless can resist attacks with curse and concept effects, huh?"

"I hate this Limitless thing-!"

"Hey, little Assassin, what do you think you're doing to my Master??"

Artoria appeared beside me and attacked, sending the little one flying away. Soon after, Jeanne also appeared. Seeing the situation turn against her, Jack retreated into the mist, and after seeing the two ladies appear, I also turned off Limitless and thanked them both.

"Thank you, both of you. If it weren't for you two, even though I still have infinite protection, it seems that my body has just transformed and hasn't adapted yet, and I encountered a bit of a problem so..."

While I was expressing my gratitude, after they had driven Jack away, they turned back to look at me, and upon seeing my female form, both were taken aback and shocked by this development.

"Huh!!! Master, why have you... turned into a girl!??"

"Master, could it be that you..."

Seeing the expressions on their faces, I knew there was a significant misunderstanding here, so I tried to clarify the situation.

"Listen, it's not what you think. I was made to inhale something by that kid, which is why I've turned into a girl like this."

"So that's how it is... So that's why you were turned into a girl."

"But anyway, you're quite cute, so I don't see any problem with it, haha."

"These two Servants..."

I kept twitching at the attitude of these two little ones, but let's put that aside for now; I need to quickly find that Jack and make him turn me back into a boy.

"Anyway, let's forget about it for now; I need to quickly find that little Jack the Ripper and make him turn me back into a boy right away."

"You seem quite energetic, don't you? Even though you always wake up late and are lazy."

"Well, there's no need for you to say it; let's go now, hurry up!"

"Understood, yes, dear female Master."

"Hey, I heard that!!"

Ignoring Jeanne teasing me for being turned into a girl, Artoria, Jeanne, and I immediately set out to find Jack, and right far from where we were, a serious incident was happening.

"What... what's going on here!!? Why is everyone-"

The Ruler, along with Khánh Minh, had split up to act and witnessed the sight of people being covered by a black liquid substance before they could evacuate into their homes, and then the black mud began to transform into the shape of a wolf, but larger and with a mutated body.

"The shape of these monsters is almost exactly like the monsters that Khánh Minh and I fought at the fortress in the sky; could it be that he is behind all this! And this fog too? If so, then things have gone too far."

After the monsters finished transforming, they all simultaneously targeted and attacked the Ruler in a frenzy, and at the same time, Sieg, after entering the town, was enveloped by the fog and also attacked by the monsters.

"What's happening here!?? The fog suddenly appeared and then these monsters."

While he was trying to fend off the attacks of the monsters, Anos was continuously collapsing and coughing when coming into contact with the fog; seeing the person who had helped him being affected by the fog, Sieg went to Anos.

"Anos, you need to get out of here quickly, it's dangerous here, if you stay, you will be killed."

"Cough cough... I know, I will leave right away, you remember to stay safe."

"Yeah, I know, you go and escape from this place."

Then Anos left with a sinister smile, leaving Sieg struggling to fight the monsters, and somewhere else, Jack's Master, who was looking at her phone, realized that Jack had returned.

"Have you returned, Jack! So, did you complete the mission he gave you?"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't, even though I turned that Khánh Minh into a girl and left him alone, but that armor and his Limitless are really annoying since even my Noble Phantasm couldn't affect or touch him!"

"Is that so! Well, it's a pity, but anyway, you tried your best, oh and just now, I received a signal from Anos that it's time to activate it."

"Is that so! Is it okay, mama?"

"Don't worry, it's fine, after all, we're only cooperating with him for the Holy Grail, and he will keep his promise with that contract or something, so it's all good."

"If that's the case, then let's do it, Mama."

"Okay."

Then she pressed the call button on her phone, and simultaneously, the four devices that Anos had asked Mihawk to install were activated; all four devices opened to emit a red smoke that enveloped the entire town, and Atalanta had arrived at Trifas.

"I can't believe it's just as that Anos said, the black Assassin and her Master are truly insane to do such things."

As she was about to step in, she saw from afar Chiron and the Homunculi also approaching the town, and although the two sides saw each other, they did not fight because now they had a common goal: to destroy Jack and her Master, and both sides entered the fog without knowing that something terrible was about to happen.

To Be Continued.